Prom
by sincerely- scripted
Summary: Willa and Philby never planned on going to Prom. '"Why did you tell me?" Willa interrupted, her curious mind getting ahead of her. Philby froze. Why did he tell her? "Because . . . you're Willa, you solve all the problems, especially when they are my fault. And I trust you not to turn me in." He joked. '


_Look what I found from months ago! Forgot to upload it but I thought I would give you guys a little treat._

_Set a week or two before book seven._

Lunch time was without a doubt the best part of High School Senior Dell Philby's day.

Don't worry, the brainiac loved his classes and school work but sitting at the six-person circle table with friends, most of who were not involved in his once nightly visits to Disney World, invoked a sigh of relief from his day. The school year was near over and the emotions in the senior filled cafeteria were electric. Everyone was buzzing about their plans for the summer and their future. Posters lined the boring white, brick walls advertising prom, yearbook distribution, graduation and multiple other messages.

Dell was first to reach his now ritual seat with friends Jack and Logan trailing closely behind. Jack, a short boy with dark straight locks of hair that stood up in every direction, was a math super geek who talked to fast to keep up with most of the time. He was also one of Dells closest friends in school after a rift between himself and once buddy Hugo had caused them to go different ways. Jack and Dell met in their shared AP Calculus class junior year, and now sat next to each other at lunch. Dell, who had not had many friends outside the Keepers, was then introduced to other classmates. These classmates included Logan, a beach blond track athlete with a knack for chemistry, who sat on the other side of Dell at the lunch table and Logan's girlfriend Hollie.

Hollie had the brightest red hair, brighter than Dell's, which curled up into small ringlets. The vivid color allowed Philby to spot out her lean dancer's body a minute later running towards the table. She jumped into her seat next to Logan, looking at each of the boys expectantly.

"Where's Willa?" she asked, edge and excitement lacing her voice.

Yes, Willa Angelo was part of their small group. Willa Angelo the girl who was also a DHI with Philby, the girl who had kissed him to wake him up while driving a van through a foreign jungle, the one who Dell had a crush on for the past four years. The small, brown-eyed girl had never been very far from him over the past few years. Their friendship was special. Obviously it meant something tremendous to both sides but nothing had ever surfaced more than closeness.

"Not hear yet," Philby answered nervously. "Why?"

"You didn't hear what happened?" Hollie bounced up and down in her seat uncontrollably. She didn't wait for a reply. "Jason Doyle asked her to prom!"

Philby's stomach dropped. The two never dated technically. Sure they had gone to events together as dates, parties and football games and such. People had always assumed they were together from the time they spent with each other. But no matter how much Dell may have wished the rumors to be true they were not.

"What?! When? How?" Philby tried not to sound too anxious in his questioning. From the look that Hollie was giving him, the subtlety had not worked.

Jason Doyle was well connected within the area. His father was on city council, the dude had popularity written all over him since the sixth grade. With a four-point-oh GPA and hair to make girls swoon, he was considered the cities golden boy.

"During third period," she leaned in to tell the story. "The rumor going around is he showed up at her locker with roses and everything. But no one knows what she has said! That's why I need to find her. Of course, she probably said yes."

"Wha-what?" Philby stumbled over words. "Why would she say yes?" Was it possible that he was jealous of some random guy? Willa had never mentioned Jason before in her life.

"I don't know," Logan spoke up for the first time that day, in a bored voice. "But here's a suggestions," the sarcastic voice of reason said. "Her she comes, why don't you ask her?" he pointed behind Philby to where Willa was walking through the cafeteria entrance.

Hollie's face beamed, her hands moving in a jazzy motion she, jumped up and nearly ran to her friend. Philby shifted to see Willa.

She looked distracted, always thinking that one, looking at the ground more than where she was going. She held on tightly to the purse at her shoulder. The deep green of her military jacket complimented her skin tone making her look tanner than usual, the Native American in her. Willa was never a girly-girl, but lately she had taken to wearing more makeup than she had during her younger years, making her look absolutely gorgeous to Philby. Following her skinny jeans down to the small booted heels that clicked when she walked.

Willa finally glanced up and gave Dell the smallest of smiles until she caught notice of Hollie bounding on her. The fight or flight response kicked in. She took a step back, pursed her lips, and pivoted to walk in the opposite direction. Hollie had reached her, wrapping her arm around the smaller brunette's waist. The boys could hear them taking now.

"C'mon, c'mon," Hollie persisted. "Spill. The suspense is killing me." The pair took their seats next to each other. Willa now sat directly across from Dell, her bag on her lap. "Can I schedule us an appointment to go dress shopping?"

"You can schedule yourself an appointment and I will show up and give my support," Willa mocked.

"Oh no! What happened? I thought Jason Doyle asked you," Hollie pouted her lips. This obviously was not the outcome she had been expecting.

"Oh, he asked me alright," she replied with a tone of disgust. She opened up her bag and began to take out her lunch. The table hung on the edge of their seats, waiting anxiously for the apparent gap in the story to be filled.

"Are you going to elaborate?" Logan gestured politely, he was interested.

Willa looked up, shocked to see everyone staring at her. "Hmm?" her eyebrows rose. "I declined."

"YOU DID WHAT?!" Hollie yelled, aghast.

"I said no," she looked at the girl in disbelief.

"Willa-Willa-Willa!" the red-head stood behind her friend, placing her hands gently on Willa's shoulders. "We are talking about _Jason Doyle_," her fingers shot into small fireworks beside Willa's ears. She always did have a flair for the dramatic. "The boy wonder, every girl loves him, teachers, parents all wish they were their kids. Boys want to be him."

Willa, the voice of reason, chimed in, "he is also a complete stranger to me. I don't think we have ever spoken more than two words to each other."

"Pish-posh," Hollie waved her hand in the air, defiant in returning back to her seat.

"I am not a very good dancer anyways. Prom is one place I will hopefully avoid embarrassment this year."

Philby, who had been studiously avoiding a gawking look at the girl across from him, sprung his head up.

She was lying, or at least downplaying the conversation.

One thing that, as keepers, the pair got to do was attend galas, special event dinners, parties and the like. All of which required dressing up, looking presentable and almost always dancing. Willa is a musician. She always looked forward to the time when the dance floor was open. Often times, she had to drag Finn out with her. In Philby's unbiased opinion, she wasn't half-bad at dancing.

Something was up.

"She is right," Philby spoke up on Willa's behalf, "you should see her at some of our Disney events. Absolutely horrid at dancing, this one is."

"Oh, thanks," she muttered sarcastically but the smile on her face for him was sincere. She knew he was covering for her.

Hollie, missing the exchange altogether, continued her mission, "So, you are not going to go at all? It's Senior Prom Wills. It's a rite of passage."

Willa just shrugged. No yes or no answer. _What could that mean?_ Philby asked himself_. Did she want to go? Would she go with me? Should I ask her?_

The boy honestly had not thought about it so much. With the end of the year rounding, graduation, testing, and the Wayne's recent contact with him, it all had been a bit mind boggling. Now that he pondered the situation however, how could he have not seen it? This was Willa. They would have a great time together, friends and all around a much more intimate setting, work and school distractions gone and all, just what he had been waiting for he supposed. Always waiting for the precise moment to make a move and often looking back upon hours of regret. Willa always had a way with making it hard to get the right words out. She kept the tone neutral. He could pick up no signals. Maybe this was Philby's way in.

"Right, Dell?" Willa asked. Philby was staring at the table in thought. "Dell?" she snapped her fingers.

His head shot up. "Hmm?" Dell Philby was not one to get easily distracted by thoughts. "What are we talking about?"

"Well, _Hollie_ here wants to take me shopping after school today because she thinks she can convince me to go to the dance. Unfortunately, I cannot because you and I have _scheduled rock-climbing_ this afternoon." The emphasis in her voice was so subtle, he doubts he would have noticed it if it were not for truth that he spent nearly every day listening to that voice and the minor detail regarding the fact that they don't schedule climbs.

He nods obediently, "It's too late to cancel," Dell replies, lucky they never allowed anyone else at the table to come to climbing with them. "Which reminds me, you have my gear in your car, right?" he lied. She always harangued him because he stowed is equipment in the trunk of _his _car.

Willa's eyes crinkled, this is why she loved their relationship, so much understanding. "Of course I do."

"Perfect," Dell smiled. "I will meet you by your locker after school then and we can leave right away."

In reality, Dell was at Willa's locker first. Seeing her walk down the hall in her ritualistic pattern, Willa didn't bother to look up until finally reaching her destination.

She was startled to say the least. "Ah!" she jumped. Composing herself, she flattened down the hem of her shirt and crossed her arms before leaning on her locker facing Philby. "You know I do not actually have your gear, right?" she cocked her head.

"What?" He replied with a laugh, "You thought you could get me to cover for you and then just leave?" Willa turned to open up her locker, her eyes narrowing as her fingers fumbled with the lock before hitting the final click. "I know you do not have anything to do this afternoon. Why not? I mean I at least think I am owed an explanation for saving you at lunch."

"I don't know," she eyed him quizzically. "When do you do anything spur of the moment? It's kind of unsettling," a rueful smile played at the corners of her mouth making Philby want to kiss her right then and there. Willa swapped out her books, resting her hand on the side of her locker to close it, all the while, Dell remained silent, waiting. "Don't get me wrong, I am thankful for what you did at lunch but-"

Philby interrupted her then, while she was distracted with the small silver device.

"If I bring back a dozen roses, will that make you say yes?" He asked, trying valiantly but failing to keep a straight face. Even the idea of someone trying to win essentially the most stubborn person Philby ever knew with a bouquet of pink flowers, was slightly off-putting but funny none-the-less.

Willa threw her fingers up, reaching them out towards Philby's face, then pulling them back. "Da-dut, shhh." She leaned in close, whispering, "Fine." Willa looked him directly in the eye. Her face displayed the strangest mix of anger at him (was he blackmailing her?) and amusement (this was not the Philby she knew, but could he be changing towards the better?). "You're driving!" she poked him hard, trying to be threatening, but missed his shoulder and hit the collar bone instead, thus, causing more pain on her behalf. The pain only breaking her composure for a moment, but it was obviously caught. Not trying to give Dell the satisfaction, Willa strutted away. "My house, twenty minutes."

On time, Philby parked the car outside of the Angelo household. He managed to race home, grab a change of clothes and make Willa's driveway in seventeen minutes flat. He felt that must have been a record of some sort and took note of it.

Willa exited through the front door of her house, visibly suppressing a smile when she saw Dell standing outside of her house. She too had changed, into a pair of runner's leggings and tee shirt with the school logo on it. With her backpack slung over her shoulder and climbing shoes strapped on, she walked towards him.

"Ready to go?" Philby asked when she reached the car. She nodded. "Great, climb in."

"You're right, it has been a long time since we have done this," Willa spoke after a quiet start to the car ride.

"Don't sound so surprised," he retorted. Willa rolled her eyes. A smile playing on her lips before a distracted look turned her usually bright eyes sullen and troubled. Philby glanced over at her rather obviously two or three times before speaking. "You wanna talk about it?" he knew she was thinking about the circumstances that got them into this situation.

She let out a deep sigh, as if information she had was a burden, a secret of sorts. She was holding back from him. "Maybe later," Willa sat Indian-style, half-turned toward the driver's seat. "Let's talk about something else."

For the rest of the ride Philby spoke of his recent contact with the Imagineers. They had informed him of some recently strange events in the park and warned of a potential cross over. The reason Philby was in the loop was because, against Disney's wishes, he had continued to monitor the data feed and they needed positive verification that he had not hacked into any of their other systems.

"When did they tell you all of this?" Willa asked concerned.

"A couple of days ago, remember when I wasn't in 7th period on Monday? They pulled me out of class to talk to me. I asked them if we could bring you down too but they denied me. Said it was better the fewer of us who knew. I think they are scared we will go without them and start our own investigation."

He spoke so nonchalant about the situation, it made Willa think he was downplaying the enormity of what they were telling him or he didn't know the whole story.

"Must be serious if they pulled you out of school or informed us at all, usually we discover it on our own. They must have hid the evidence well."

"You should have been there, it was terrifying. All of those adults, half of them want to get me in trouble for knowing so much and the others wanted to beat me up for knowing more than them."

"Have you spoken to Finn about it?" apprehension laced her voice. Willa was always skeptical of confrontation between Finn and Philby. Though they were both friends, they continually fought for more power, even if it was as inadvertently as this. Philby knew information that Finn didn't and that was bound to upset the ranks.

Philby scanned the area, pulling into the parking lot. "No, you are the only one who knows."

He eyed her with a look of guilt. It was often Willa who had to put him into place. His moral compass when he acted rashly.

"Are you planning on mentioning it?" her face was casted out the front windshield.

"Well, technically I am not even allowed to tell you. I understand he is going to be-"

"Why did you tell me?" Willa interrupted, her curious mind getting ahead of her.

Philby froze. _Why did he tell her?_ "Because . . . you're Willa, you solve all the problems, especially when they are my fault. And I trust you not to turn me in." He joked.

They sat in the parked car with their seatbelts off, "I take it you looked into the situation then."

"Guilty," Philby admitted. He spent most of Tuesday on his computer researching what Disney was talking about. "I can't quite figure out where the Imagineers are headed though, maybe you could take a look at my research."

"You aren't going to tell him then I take it," She shook her head opening the door of his car and exiting.

"I will, I will," Philby spoke over the hood of the car. "But according to my calculations, I am thinking we have a good month or two before things get so bad they call us all in. I will let him focus on school until the end of the year."

"This is going to hurt you if your _calculations_ are wrong, Dell." She told him curtly.

"That's why I am turning to you for help. You and I, we make a pretty good team when it comes to this stuff."

He wasn't lying, together they were unstoppable. There was nothing the pair couldn't do. Willa found herself grinning. It wasn't often that Philby asked for help, and even less often that he gave someone else a compliment.

"We are pretty great together," Willa divulged before turning to enter the complex.

Philby found himself blushing profusely, following behind her.

The building was largely empty of other patrons. A maze of rock wall corridors. Philby and Willa geared up and then went to work. They first tried the self-propelled walls as a warm up. Taking turns buckling each other in and climbing to the top. They passed up a cave of climbing crevices. Neither of them were very good with working in any tight spaces after the experience down south a few years back. More walls that required them to support each other followed.

A good two hours later, they were exhausted. They outing had been a good distraction for Willa but Philby had something he had to do before he lost the nerve.

"One more," held up a finger to indicate one and then pointed to the far wall, "I will race you to the top."

Two cords dangled from a very close area a button held up at the top would stop the timer.

"You mean, you will lose a race to the top?" Willa corrected.

"Well, isn't someone a bit confident in herself?" Willa shrugged. "Okay, then, let's make this interesting. Winner picks his poison." He suggested.

Willa held out her hand, "You're on."

Strapped in and ready to go, the race was on, no more than three steps up Philby interrupted.

"So is it 'later' yet? Do I get to be let in on why you won't go to prom?"

Willa closed her eyes, stopping in her tracks to shake head at his question. "Really, Dell? That's a dirty trick. But it's not going to work, I am winning."

"Then answer the question, Willa," he persisted gently. When she didn't respond, he continued. "Sure, I understand why you wouldn't want to go with some random guy you don't know but I still thought you would be going. And what was that line about being a bad dancer? You are a great dancer. I have seen you. Hell, I have danced with you before. Prom is the kind of thing I expected you to be all over. So why try to avoid it?"

The small gain that Philby had on her in the beginning was slowly slipping the more he spoke. Willa was almost even with him, half-a-leg away.

"It's just one of those things that I never imagined I would even have to think about going to. Like a lot of stuff that has happened. I just never expected the possibility of it." She spoke sincerely. Willa reached the next peg, "Do you ever worry about the future, about moving on, all the possibilities? It's like that. I focus so much about getting through it all; to reaching the end goal that on the last step I forget that there is no going back to how it was before. We are graduating, Dell. These last months are crazy. Who knows, you and I may only see each other at Finn and Amanda's wedding and then a few years later at the school reunion. It's scary. I know that it's not the end of the line, we still have testing, and then graduation, but prom is one of those moments that is supposed to stick in your mind forever. The story you tell your grandchildren over and over. And I want to avoid it all. Push it off as long as possible."

Philby understood. He wasn't happy that she thought they weren't going to see each other after school ended but he understood.

"The world is wild, Willa, you never know what could happen."

They were both so close to the top. Feet away. Anyone's game.

Willa began to reach for it. Just missing, she moved up.

She was there, she had! Philby was right behind, his hand hovering hers.

"Will you go to prom with me?" he breathed out. Hand-slamming down, on top of hers, the timer stopped.

She looked at him in shock, was it because they had tied? Was it the question?

"What did say?" she huffed, out of breath. "Did you just ask me to prom?"

Philby blushed, "Well, I tried to. Not sure how it's working right now." They were holding themselves against the wall now, if they let go the repeller would kick in and send them slowly towards the ground. "So, what say, will you go to prom with me?"

"Hollie is going to have to schedule another appointment," she smiled.

Willa withheld the beaming smile until she was safely away from prying eyes in the comfort of her room. She had texted Charlene while in the locker room of the climbing complex.

**SOS. Can you skype? 7:00**

A response came soon after. They were on.

The time was currently seven-oh-three. Willa was late. She logged online quickly and found an incoming call from Charlene.

The blonde spent most of her days out in California now, working in Hollywood. The girls tried to talk as much as they could, specifically when there was special news to share. They always kept each other in the loop. This day the news was partially special and other part advice.

The drive home was something of a blur for both Willa and Philby, though neither would admit that what was happening was a bit dreamlike. They discussed the upcoming AP Government project. Reverting to their simpler relationship of being work partners instead of acknowledging that they were going as dates to a somewhat important event. Willa seceded from the race, admitting that though Philby hit _her_ hand, he won. To this he claimed he was already a winner because she said she would accompany him to the dance.

All of a sudden, Charlene's make-up clad face filled the screen of Willa's computer.

"Hey, Wills," she waved at her friend. "I have an event tonight. But I can talk for a bit. What's the 'SOS'?"

Willa crossed her arms and rested them on the desk in front of her. She leaned into the screen, pulling off a serious face, acting nonchalant. "Philby asked me to prom."

Charlene's arms flung around wildly, her face exploding in surprise. "He did what?! How? When? OH MY GOD. I am so happy for you Willa. For both of you. Does this mean you are dating now? Wait, you said yes right? Of, course you said yes. You have only loved him for four years now. What are you going to wear? Ugh, not yellow, I hope."

"Woah, woah, Char," Willa yelled. "Slow down," the girl smiled. "One question at a time."

The girls continued their talk. Charlene leading the questions on and Willa answering until the story was out in the open and clear. Charlene could barely contain her excitement for her friend.

"Now, in all seriousness," Charlene said, "what are you going to wear?"

Willa rolled her eyes. "An hour ago I wasn't even going. I have not thought that far. I suppose I could probably go out with Hollie this week-"

"No!" Charlene's eyes were bright, her grin contagious, but also semi-evil looking. "I have the perfect dress for you. I was supposed to wear it to a premiere last month. But it was too short and blah, blah, blah, it was a mess. I t would be perfect for you. Send me your sizes, and I can send it out to you."

"I don't know, Char," Willa was always the skeptic.

"Trust me, you will look gorgeous. Not that, you know, you don't usually."

The dress was unbelievable. Willa was astonished at just how perfect it looked on her. She had to stop doubting Charlene. It arrived a week later after their Skype call with the tag saying pictures were necessary. Willa was beginning to get anxious. She had not wanted to go to prom earlier but now it was the only thing on her mind.

And sooner or later the big day came.

Hollie came over to the Angelo household, which was sparse of people and had a larger workspace, the morning of along with her older sister, a college sophomore with exquisite make-up skills. The girls worked together trying to perfect the two girl's looks for the night's festivities. Logan, Hollie's boyfriend, would meet the pair at the Philby residence where the four would frolic around the backyard in order to give every picture that the parents required.

Hollie wore a dark blue, tight dress that was sparsely beaded with one long sleeve down her arm that then hooked over her finger like a figure skaters costume would. The other shoulder was bare, showing her pale freckled skin. The floor length gown showcased her lean dancers' legs with a slit up to her thigh, accented by a pair of silver peep-toe shoes. Her usually wild and messy red hair was straightened and sleeked back into an elegant high pony-tail with a matching blue clasp around the band. The amount of hair spray used to get it that way could've strangled the girls, but the look was flawless.

Logan, didn't smiled upon opening the door of the car. He leaned in for a kiss only to be sternly reprimanded for "already wanting to mess up" Hollie's make-up. The girl jumped away, eager to go see everyone in the house, allowing Logan to laugh behind her. He already knew he would be carrying her shoes in a few hours.

He held out his hand for Willa and helped her out of the car as well.

"Don't worry, Philby is inside," Logan told her. "He is hiding from his mom in the guest room."

Willa entered the house, knowing exactly where to go. She headed down the hall and through the half-way closed door to the guest room. Looking inside, she found Philby standing by the tall dresser mirror. Frustrated with his bow tie he untied it and began to tie it again.

He didn't notice Willa walked in until she was five feet behind him.

He turned around quickly, clearly embarrassed. "You look . . . whew."

The dress Charlene had sent her was very light pink, blush color, with a sweetheart neckline and beaded-mesh capped sleeves. The mermaid style dress, hugged her bodice and waist (the part of Willa's body that she disliked the most, oddly the dress was extremely flattering) until tapering of ever so slightly. Blush coloring was highly complementary to her skin tone. Willa's short hair was naturally wavy but now held the curls of a 1920's movie stars. The look over all very glamorous, winning the jealousy of Hollie who said, "You look hot, like I would not have told you to come if I knew you were going to try and show me up."

Needless to say, Philby was awestruck. "That's some dress you got there." His hand's still held the ends of the bow tie that matched the color of her dress. Willa could see under the grey tux jacket he was wearing that his vest matched as well.

"Compliments of Charlene," she said stepping forward. "Here let me help," her hands reached forward to the tie. Philby gave over to her graciously; he stuck his chin up, occasionally feeling the brush of her cool fingers on his skin. "You clean up pretty nice for yourself."

"I try my best."

The pair smiled. It was one of those moments that seemed to be happening to them a lot lately. The level of comfort they felt in each other's presence was unfathomable. It snuck up on them. In this turn of events, Willa was so close, touching him even, their breathing in sync, not to mention how beautiful she looked. In the past, Philby would have blushed and stepped back. Now it was the opposite.

Willa finished her work, and moved up onto her toes to brushing off his shoulders instinctually. Philby found himself studying her face again.

"All done," she sang.

"There you two are!" Philby's mother jumped into the room her professional looking camera bouncing off the lanyard that rested on her chest. "C'mon everyone is downstairs. Ohh! You look striking, Willa. Both of you look so cute together. Smile!"

Her camera was pulled out at rapid speed. Willa looked to Philby for some sort of clue as to how they were supposed to stand, but neither was given enough time. The couple was unprepared for the paparazzi attack; they both squinted to the flashing light. In the final product, their heads were turned towards each other rather than the camera.

Philby groaned at his mother.

After making their way down the hall and outside, they found the other couple and began the hazardous task of posing for Mrs. Philby.

Willa and Philby danced along with every other couple on the outskirts of the dance floor. Philby had his arms locked around Willa's waist holding her close. The girl rested her head against his collar bone, bracing him around the shoulders. The night was nearly over, this was the last song, and their proximity was hardly an issue. They had been in situations that required them to be closer but having the choice felt more intimate.

"Remember that night in EPCOT years ago, when we were searching for Wayne and had to hide in the back of that truck?" Philby asked. He kept his eyes down cast.

"Yes," Willa she whispered, pulling only her head back to look at him quizzically. "You landed on top of me when we jumped out. Why?"

"I have been thinking about what we talked about that day on the rock wall. About the world being wild and how we are nearing the end of the line, do you remember?"

Willa nodded quietly and continued to spin in dance.

"You truly believed that sooner or later, we would be saying goodbye. And for some reason, that night in the park was brought to mind." He laughed, "I am not sure how many times we accused each other of being the traitor that night, too many to stay sane. I just remember that you were driving me crazy."

"Way to ruin the moment, Dell!" she interrupted.

He looked at her then, smirking. "I never would have imagined this back then."

"The being at Prom part or being alive?"

"All of it and then some. You are right. We set ourselves down paths, plowing our way through it all and not looking until the finish line is in sight. How far we have come, how close we are now, it is enough to give you whiplash. The past is blinding."

"That's because your eyesight was being distorted by computer screens," she spoke quietly into his shirt, smiling innocently at her wit.

Philby rolled his eyes. "Either way, I want you to know that we . . . us, the two of us, we're not. . ." he stumbled on his words, Willa stopped dancing, blinking up at him.

"We're not _what_?" she tested.

"Nothing."

"No, say it." Willa replied somewhat sternly, preparing herself for the worst. "You already started. Tell me." The two stood on the dance floor in lock down.

"That's just it. We're not nothing. Don't you see? There is something between us and I think I needed your perspective thoughts to figure it out. Somehow, under the oddest circumstances, we bring out the best and the worst at the same time. It's powerful. Whether we are fighting, and you need to prove me wrong or at those strange moment s when you seem to read my mind and we work together as a force of nature. It's something." He took a deep breath. "We have something, the two of us. And I don't want it just to disappear after graduation."

Willa was shaky; she held her hands in fists at her side to hide it. "We have so much connecting us I don't think I could ever forget you or the other Keepers. Especially over the recent events in Mexico. You were dead, Dell. I can't get over that. What would have happened if I hadn't been able to wake you up? I would have been devastated. So please, is there some hidden clue in this speech of yours because you know as well as anyone that I love puzzles but I can't keep trying to solve your . . . feelings? This isn't computer code, Dell. What are you trying to tell me?"

What was he trying to tell her? He loved her. No. it was true but he couldn't let it out here. This was not the place. Or the time.

"Don't think of . . . I can't just." Philby paused taking a deep breath and standing up tall, arms at his sides. " I don't want you to just remember me when you talk about the Keepers or DHI's. I want to be more than just another Keeper to you. I," he pursed his lips, her deep brown eyes were locked on his. Shaking his head, trying to swallow the urge to shut-up and kiss her that he had been fighting since the song started.

The drive won out.

He brought both hands up to cup her face. Willa squinted her eyes shut twice, feeling his face millimeters from hers filled her with the strangest sensation. She had wanted him to kiss her, but she wanted to know how he felt before. "Don't," she whispered. Keeping her eyes shut she continued. "Please don't kiss me. Believe me I want you to. The first time, you were unconscious and I would really like a new memory of kissing you. I love you, Dell." She slowed down. "But you need to think about what you are about to do. Don't get my hopes up just because I am wearing this sparkly dress and we are at a special event. I need you to know."

"Willa," he started.

She opened her glassy eyes. Bringing up her arms, she rested her hands on top of his and plainly moved them to his side. "I don't want to hear your speculations. I'm sorry."

Quickly she looked side-to-side, making sure no one was eyeing them and the stiff conversation. Willa offered a weak smile to the ground and walked away with her arms wrapped around her body feeling utterly cold without the warmth of her dance partner's arms.


End file.
